Psyonix

Rocket League has received a huge new patch, which has been nicknamed the Starbase Arc Update.

The new update is absolutely jam packed with new features and additional content, all of which has come to every player for free. To top this off, the update has already rolled out to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

A brand new trailer release has coincided with the brand new content drop. The new trailer showcases an inside look at the new features, starting with a discussion on the new training options, map preferences, and epic new starship vehicles.

Whilst the 1.25GB patch is filled with content, the main highlights have been listed below.

Starbase ARC arena
New antennae, decals, and trails
New holiday items
Support for new premium DLC
Custom Training has been added on all platforms.
Players can now set Arena Preferences on all online Playlists.
"Champions Crate IV" can now be found rarely after online matches.
The "Gizmo" and "X-Devil" Battle-Cars have received a visual upgrade.
Steam Workshop support has been added for map creation on PC.
Color Blind support has been added.

The Steam Workshop support will allow players on the PC to create and share their own custom maps, training levels, and fun mini-games, all of which could potentially make their way onto the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in the future as part of a series of free community packs. We'll, of course, have to wait on Psyonix to confirm or deny whether this could be a possibility.

I've always thought that Rocket League looked like an absolutely solid title but after a bit more of a look at the latest update, it turns out that the game does actually have room to get even better. Instead of just adding new cosmetic items or a new arena, the next Rocket League patch will add new gameplay content that could add hundreds of hours of new fun and completely change the direction of future eSports events.

The biggest new addition is the new game mode named Hoops. As the name suggests, Hoops is a basketball inspired mode. The new game mode will feature a 2 v 2 setup on a new arena called Dunk House. To get players in the spirit, NBA flags will be added as cosmetic items in the new update too. The new flags can be purchased, although the NBA logo will be given out for free.

To begin with the Hoops mode will be limited to unranked but a ranked playlist could be possible in the future. So far Psyonix is yet to confirm the future of Hoops, we'll have to see how well the game mode is received by the community. A few changes will be made to tweak game settings, fix UI issues and smooth out any overall problems that have been apparent in previous builds. This includes a rare glitch where the ball could actually leave the arena completely.

Whilst the Dunk House arena is specifically released for the Hoops mode, another new arena will be added. The new arena is named Cosmic and it will be available from within the Rocket Labs playlist.

Soon Rocket League will finally be coming to the Xbox One. After being available for PlayStation 4 and the PC since it's release, Xbox One players have not had the chance to play Rocket League. However, Rocket League will be launching on Xbox One in February and it won't just be the exact same content as the other versions.

When the Xbox One version of Rocket League lands in February, exclusive content will be added. The exclusive content will only be cosmetic, but it can be considered a bit of an extra bonus for loyal Xbox One players. The cosmetic items have all been based on the Xbox One exclusive, Sunset Overdrive.

In Rocket League, players can customize their vehicles with a variety of attachments. They can also change their rocket fuel color and make a number of other adjustments. A lot of the cosmetic items already available in the PS4 and PC versions of Rocket League are based around popular video games or concepts so having Sunset Overdrive content will be a welcome addition. Perhaps the coolest Sunset Overdrive cosmetic item for Rocket League will be the Overcharge Rocket Booster. On top of the awesome appearance, when the booster is activated, you can hear the firing mechanism from the Ahab gun in Sunset.

The Sunset Overdrive cosmetic items will be joined alongside two new exclusive Xbox One vehicles based upon Gears of War and Halo. The vehicles are called the Armadillo and the Hogsticker.